Fashion's past explored in 'The New Look'
The television series “The New Look” is exploring the complex histories of founders like Christian Dior and Coco Chanel during the postwar era. The show's popularity signals a trend where creative leadership is judged on narrative stewardship and the ethical complexities behind a brand's heritage. This places new pressure on current creative directors to carefully curate their brand's origin story.
- While Christian Dior was designing dresses for the wives of Nazi officers at the fashion house of Lucien Lelong, his sister Catherine Dior was an active member of the French Resistance. She was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo in 1944, then deported to the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. - Coco Chanel's wartime activities included a romantic relationship with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage, a German intelligence officer. Declassified documents have indicated her role as a spy for the Abwehr, German military intelligence, with the code name "Westminster." - The show joins a growing trend of biographical dramas centered on fashion icons, including "House of Gucci," "Halston," and "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story." These productions often lead to a significant increase in brand searches and interest in the featured designers' creations. - Christian Dior's iconic "New Look" collection debuted in 1947, and was a direct reaction to the austerity of the war years, featuring full skirts and cinched waists that used metres of fabric. This opulent use of material was a stark contrast to the utilitarian fashion of the war and was seen by some as a return to glamour and femininity. - The professional rivalry between Dior and Chanel was rooted in their opposing design philosophies. Chanel, known for her practical and comfortable designs, reportedly detested Dior's restrictive and romantic silhouettes. - The current creative director for Dior's women's collections is Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first woman to hold the position, who has been noted for her feminist-inspired collections since her appointment in 2016. At Chanel, Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld's longtime right-hand woman, took over as creative director in 2019. - Catherine Dior was the inspiration behind the legendary fragrance Miss Dior, launched in 1947. After the war, she was awarded several medals for her bravery, including the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour. - Chanel's efforts during the war also included attempting to use Nazi laws to seize control of the Chanel No. 5 perfume business from her Jewish partners, the Wertheimer family. She was reportedly interrogated after the war but avoided charges, allegedly due to an intervention by her friend, Winston Churchill.
